RedBlacks sign DE Marlon Smith

The article below is from 2011 but it recaps recent Redblacks signee Marlon Smith's background and playing style quite nicely, so I wanted to save it.  Click on the Kens5 link below to read the full version.  In case the link goes dead soon, the picture is credited to Jeff Huehn.

by David Flores / Kens5.com  

Posted on September 17, 2011 at 9:54 AM 

 

Before starting in UTSA’s 31-3 rout of Northeastern State in its historic first game Sept. 3, Roadrunners defensive end Marlon Smith hadn't played in a football game since his senior season at Wagner High School in 2007. 

Considering how Smith has played in UTSA’s first two games, maybe football is a lot like riding a bike. Once you learn the game, you never forget how to play it.

A 2008 Wagner graduate, Smith played basketball at St. Mary’s for one season before transferring to UTSA in 2009 and joining the school’s fledgling program as a walk-on.

Two years and many grueling workouts later, Smith is well on his way to becoming the Roadrunners’ first outstanding defensive lineman. He earned a scholarship after UTSA’s fall camp last year and has developed into one of the team’s leaders. 

...

Smith played in 28 games during his one basketball season at St. Mary’s, averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds as a power forward. He also blocked 38 shots, the fourth most in Rattlers’ history.

But as well as Smith played, he felt unfulfilled as an athlete. He had his heart set on playing football at TCU coming out of high school, but the Horned Frogs never came across with a scholarship offer after recruiting him.

“I pretty much had put all my eggs in one basket with TCU,” Smith said. “It was pretty disappointing when they told me they didn't have a scholarship for me at the end. They were going to place me at a junior college, but that’s when I decided to go play basketball at St. Mary’s.”

While Smith started a new chapter in his life with the Rattlers, football was never far from his thoughts.

“I missed football a lot,” he said. “We had one of those big-screen TVs in our locker room at St. Mary’s. A lot of times we had games on Saturdays, so I’d sit there and watch college football. I’d watch and see someone miss a tackle and think, ‘Man, you should have hit that guy really hard,’ or something like that.”

... 

(UTSA coach Larry) Coker said Smith’s skills as a basketball player have helped him on the football field.

“He’s rangy,” Coker said. “He has good skills and works hard. He’s relentless as a pursuer. He’s not a big, physical guy, obviously. He’s pretty lean, but he gives great effort.”

Smith didn't know what to expect when he started working out with the Roadrunners.

“When I came here, I thought they were going to play me at wide receiver,” said Smith, who played safety at Wagner. “I had never played D-end before, but the coaches saw something in me that I didn't see in myself.

“I’m not going to lie. That first semester here was real tough because I didn't know whether I was cut out to be a defensive end. There were other people who came here and had played defensive end their whole lives. I didn't know if I was prepared.”

Guided by defensive line coach Eric Roark, Smith persevered through the tough times and learned his new position through hard knocks and dedication.

...

A heady player, Smith has impressed UTSA coaches with his attitude and work ethic. Combine that with his raw athletic skills and you have player with a tremendous upside.

“First of all, he can cover a lot of ground,” defensive coordinator Neal Neathery said. “And he’s long and he runs hard. The other part that makes him good is that he’s real pensive. He’s always thinking. He takes what he’s doing very seriously. He’s very serious about his business. He goes to work when he comes out here.

“It’s taken him until late August to be a good player. He wasn't a good football player last spring. He was still too slow with everything. Now he’s playing fast and it’s coming to him real well.”

The following August, Smith left the UTSA program following a "violation of team rules".  I say "left" because it sounds, from the few articles I've been able to locate about the incident, as though it was his choice and not an expulsion.

"A tough journey for Texans' Menkin might hit paydirt"

I'm sure that when Kevin Robbins wrote this article about new RedBlacks offensive lineman Nate Menkin back in August of 2012, he didn't envision that the big man would "hit paydirt" for Ottawa of the CFL.

Highlights of the article are copied below, in case the link goes dead.

He was a fine player at Lago Vista High School. He was tall, tireless in the weight room and always ran the hill alongside Sisemore Field long after his teammates had gone home after practice. He played offense and defense for head coach Alan Haire. He helped his team post the best finish in school history and a thrilling first trip to the playoffs. 

But no college coaches seemed to notice him. Only one, in fact, saw enough potential in the 6-foot-5-inch tight end to invite Menkin to campus. 

... 

Menkin's mother had died of breast cancer when he was 16. Marleen Menkin endured the disease for many years, trying different treatments, refusing to accept its harsh inevitabilities.
Her oldest son learned a lot from watching his mother when she was sick. She never surrendered, Menkin said. So neither did he. 

... 

Menkin went to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, a Division III program in Belton with a strong tradition in football. He told his father, Darryl, that he would become an All-American. He told Haire, his high school coach, that no matter what happened, he never would give up. 

... 

Menkin became that All-American at offensive tackle. He was a four-year letterman for the Cru. And after his senior year, he snatched a piece of magic. 

His coach at Mary Hardin-Baylor, Pete Fredenburg, took Menkin to the NFL pro day at Baylor. A lot of scouts were there to see Robert Griffin III. 

They also saw Menkin, who bench-pressed 225 pounds 39 times. They saw him run the 40-yard dash in 5 seconds — a running back in a lineman's frame. 

A scout for the Carolina Panthers drove to Belton that afternoon. He met with Fredenburg, who told him no one on his team committed more to the game than Menkin. 

When he signed with the Texans, Menkin became just the second player from Mary Hardin-Baylor to make it to the NFL. 

... 

It's the pledge he made to himself and the people who believed in him. 

People like his mother. People like his coaches. People like his father, who needed his oldest son to help raise his two younger brothers after their mother died. 

... 

Maybe this improbable football story ends and something new begins. Menkin then might have to remind himself of the address he gave last spring to the kids at Lago Vista Middle School, where he talked about dedication. 

"I just spoke to them about sticking to what you do," Menkin said. 

"It all comes from my mom," he said. "It starts there." 

What you hear there isn't the voice of someone who waited for a path to come to him. 

It's the voice of a man who went out and found one.

A Closer Look at Marwan Hage's Retirement

A few days ago, I wrote a post about a few players that were said to have been signed by the RedBlacks.

Since then one veteran player retired and up to seven more were released (depending on whose report you read).

Most of those transactions have yet to be made official (as I write this, all the released players are still on the official roster).  I was going to wait until they were announced to comment but the league doesn't seem to be in any hurry.  The last posted transaction is from April 9th. Could be a while, so here's a modified Citizen article about the cuts to get the ball rolling:

(Receiver Limas) Sweed, a member of Texas’ 2005 NCAA championship team who also earned a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers, was among six players released by Ottawa on Wednesday. 

Also let go were receivers Paul De Pass and Eric Rogers, defensive backs Justin Ferrell and Bo Smith and kicker Derek Schiavone. 

Smith is a veteran CFL player, having previously been with Hamilton (2008-12) and Winnipeg (2013). Smith also spent time with the NFL’s New York Jets’ in 2010. 

Schiavone, 28 of Fort Erie, Ont., signed with Ottawa after playing previously with Edmonton (2008-12) and Montreal (2012-13).

Martin Comtois for Le Droit reported that QB Matt Faulkner was also released.

Comtois, by the way, is "the man".  If I could follow one guy's coverage, it would be that dude's. You'll frequently get details from him that other teams have missed.  Best of the bunch.

Now earlier in the week, expansion draft selection Marwan Hage retired.  It had been hoped that he would provide veteran leadership and experience on the offensive line but he wanted to spend more time with family.

So be it. Can't fault a guy for that.  It was always a possibility anyway.  But what really caught my attention were comments from fans to the effect that Hage's selection was a "wasted pick".

That comment irritates the hell out of me.  Hey, every sports fan enjoys being the passenger-seat GM, but there's a perspective to that point of view that is clearly lacking.

Hage was picked in the second round of the non-import draft.  Before each round, teams were able to protect six non-import players.  That means that by the time Ottawa got to choose in that round, 12 players were already made unavailable by each team.

The Redblacks had already chosen FB John Delahunt from Hamilton.  If we say that they should avoid Hage because of the possibility that he wouldn't report, we're up to 14 Canadian players removed from Hamilton's list.

Of course, the RedBlacks did not want to select upcoming free agents that they might lose to another team two months later anyway.  So that removes another few guys, including linebacker/long-snapper Kevin Scott, who ended up signing with Ottawa anyway.

So ultimately, during the later hours of the expansion draft, the Redblacks had a choice to make; take a chance on Hage or select Hamilton's (approximately) 17th best Canadian.  Since teams have seven starting Canadians, technically the RedBlacks were choosing between rolling the dice on a quality veteran continuing to play and a "3rd-string Canadian".

So it didn't work out.  Sure, it sucks.  But there was logic behind it.  It was a low risk (based on what Ottawa might possibly have acquired) but high reward (a talented, high-character veteran) move.  In all likelihood, Ottawa would have selected Kevin Scott anyway, and they have Scott now.  So you could make a case that they lost nothing at all.

Hey, it would be great for Hage to have played a year or two.  I'm certainly not denying that.  But taking a chance that he would not retire did not cost the RedBlacks anywhere near as much as some people are assuming it did.

Ottawa Rough Riders draft history

With the first full college draft coming up next month for the RedBlacks, this seemed like a good time to restore one of the pages from the old website.

The original source of information for this "all-time" list of Ottawa Rough Riders draft selections was the 2002 Ottawa Renegades media guide.  However, as with much of the information included therein, there were some omissions that I had to add by searching through old newspaper articles.

I also received an e-mail from a gentleman one time who pointed out that while the media guide did not display results for a draft in 1954, there were records of one so I added the names for that year based on the data he provided.

One more thing; in the early years, many of the players selected displayed "end" as their position.  When I copied the list, I changed the abbreviation to "DE" because the French abbreviation that was used was "AD", which I believed to be "ailier défensif" (defensive end), but the player may have lined up on offense or, for that matter, on both sides of the ball.

1996 
03-19) DB Sammie Brennan, Bishop's
04-28) SB Grayson Shillingford, University of British Columbia
05-37) DT/OL Darcy Curtis, Simon Fraser
05-38) OL George Savard, University of Ottawa
06-45) DB Robert McElwain, Windsor
07-54) LB Michael Hendricks, University of Ottawa

1995
Bonus round**:  LB Stefan Reid, Boise State
02-18) OG Stewart Masi, Western Michigan
03-25) OG Keith Hiscock, Simon Fraser
03-27) DB Heron Tait, Guelph
03-31) WR Steve Sarty, St. Mary's
04-33) OT Glenn Fowles, Willamette
04-34) OT Pierre-Paul Dorelien, University of Ottawa
04-39) LB Sean Marriott, St. Mary's
05-41) SB Masaki Konno, Bishop's
05-43) DL Danny Lavallée, Concordia
06-49) OL Michael Simoncic, Concordia
**Additional round for team's who respected the expenditures cap.

1994
01-05) DE Tony Bailey, St. Mary's
01-07) LB Rod Murphy, Idaho State
02-15) RB Mike Malott, Waterloo
03-23) WR Glenn McCausland, University of Toronto
04-31) DT Obie Spanic, Weber State

1993
01-03) DT Paul Yatkowski, Tennessee
02-10) RB Dwight Richards, Weber State
03-18) WR Nigel Levy, Western Ontario
04-26) RB Dean Noel, Delaware State
05-34) OL Jason Moller, Queen's
06-42) OL Fred Marquette, Concordia
07-50) OL James Munroe, Syracuse

1992
01-03) OG Denny Chronopoulos, Purdue
02-11) DB Ken Walcott, St. Mary's
02-16) DB Joe Sardo, Hawaii
03-19) DL Dave Chaytors, Utah
05-35) WR Rob Treblicock, Weber State
06-43) LB Mike Boone, Queen's
07-51) CB Mike Doucette, University of Ottawa
08-59) DB Ian Ployart, Concordia

1991
01-07) OT Brett MacNeil, Boston University
03-19) RB Geoff Mitchell, Weber State
04-27) OG Gerald Hlady, Windsor
05-35) QB Chris Flynn, St Mary's
06-43) OG Sylvanno Turrin, Bishop's
07-51) WR Steve Baillargeon, McGill
08-59) OG Pat Mahon, Western Ontario
SUPP-67) DT Michel Raby, University of Ottawa

1990
04-25) DE Michael Philbrick, Carleton
05-33) OG Al Neufeld, Saskatchewan
06-41) OL Cam Sackschewsky, Calgary
06-48) WR Brett Wilson, University of Ottawa
07-49) DL Jamie Coombs, Carleton
07-56) LB Hagen Mehnert, McGill
08-57) DB Darryl Forde, Western Ontario
08-64) LB Mike Koladich, Western Ontario
SUPP-65) PK Chuck Petitpas, McGill

1989
01-01) SB Gerald Wilcox, Weber State
03-17) DB Sean Foudy, York
04-25) P  Tom Schimmer, Boise State
05-33) OT Nenad Radulovich, Western Ontario
06-41) DB Trent Brown, Alberta
07-49) LB Gord Weber, University of Ottawa
08-57) LB Bob Forest, Carleton

1988
01-01) RB Orville Lee, Simon Fraser
03-22) DL Leon Hatziioannou, Simon Fraser
04-26) WR Sheridon Baptiste, Queen's 
05-33) OT Sieg Will, Guelph
05-34) LB Christopher Rick, Queen's
06-41) PK Brent Matich, Calgary
07-49) OT Scott Warr, McGill
08-57) OT Ray Goerke, Weber State

1987
01-01) OT Leo Groenewegen, UBC
02-10) DB Kyle Hall, Western Ontario
02-12) LB Patrick Wayne, Simon Fraser
04-28) OL Rae Robirtis, UBC
05-37) LB Brent Lewis, Western Ontario
06-46) DL Gary Lehmberg, Simon Fraser
07-55) WR Rick Wolkensperg, Western Ontario
08-64) RB David Waterhouse, University of Ottawa

1986
01-04) OT Mike Schad, Queen's
02-13) TE Bob Harding, York
03-23) DB Church Wust, Acadia
04-29) DE Rob Taylor, University of Toronto
04-31) DE Angus Donnelly, Carleton
06-49) DL Richard Storey, McMaster
07-58) DB Devon Hanson, York
08-67) OT Andre Van Vugt, Windsor

1985
01-01) OT Nick Benjamin, Concordia
02-10) WR Tom Munroe, University of British Columbia
03-19) RB Neri Fratin, University of Ottawa
04-35) DE Marty Palazeti, Marshall
06-46) PK Lance Chomyc, University of Toronto
07-55) RB George Ganas, York
08-64) OL Morris Elfenbaum, Minot State
09-73) QB Craig Kennan, Colorado

1984
TERR-  DT Michael Bourgeau, Boise State
TERR-  OL Jim De Silva, Carleton
01-04) DB Maurice Martin, Toronto
02-13) LB Dan Rashovich, Simon Fraser
03-22) DL Damir Dupin, UNLV
06-49) OL Dan Maganja, York
07-58) DB Mike White, Waterloo
08-67) DB Barry Armstrong, University of Ottawa

1983
TERR-  OT Roger Cattelan, Boston College
TERR-  TE Mike Hudson, Guelph
01-02) LB Steve Harrison, University of British Columbia
02-11) DB Junior Robinson, Guelph
03-20) LB Sam Benincasa, Guelph
04-29) OL John Kane, Michigan Tech
05-38) DB Courtney Taylor, Wilfrid Laurier
06-47) DE Francois Payer, Bishop's
07-56) DE Chris Rhora, Acadia
08-65) WR Don Clow, Acadia

1982
TERR-  DT Mark Seale, Richmond
TERR-  OL/DT Kevin Dalliday, Carleton
TERR-  DB Ron Poulton, McGill
03-26) DB Terry Cahill, East Stroudsberg State
04-35) DB Bruce Milks, Southern Arkansas
05-44) LB Terry Elik, Simon Fraser
06-53) QB Greg Clarke, British Columbia

1981
TERR-  TE John Park, Bowling Green
TERR-  TE Ian Beckstead, Richmond
01-03) RB Maurice Doyle, University of Toronto
02-12) WR Don Burns, University of Ottawa
04-30) DT Eric Boss, University of Toronto
05-39) DB Larry Ring, Bishop's
06-48) OT Anthony Refossco, Toronto
07-57) DL Rob Ball, Queen's

1980
TERR-  SB Gary Cook, Carleton
TERR-  CB Glenn Cook, Richmond
01-06) OL Pat McBride, North Dakota State
02-11) RB Mark Philp, Richmond
02-13) RB Neville Edwards, Western Ontario
04-33) WR Wesley Woof, Wilfrid Laurier
05-42) OT Steve Shubat, York
06-51) TE Mike Szemeredy, University of Toronto
07-60) OG Elwin Morobec, Utah

1979
TERR-  OT Malcolm Inglis, Carleton
TERR-  DB Pat Stoqua, Carleton
01-06) LB Carman Cartieri, Montana
02-15) DB Al Dosant, Windsor
04-33) RB Dave Green, Carleton
05-42) PK Blaine Shore, Queen's
06-51) DB Scott Spurgeon, St. Francis Xavier
07-60) RB Dave Behm, University of Ottawa

1978
TERR-  OT Dick Bakker, Queen's
TERR-  WR Bruce Walker, Windsor
01-07) RB Don Taylor, Iowa Central
04-34) LB Phil Battaglia, New Brunswick
05-43) OT Lindon Davidson, University of Ottawa
06-52) DT Dave Yurincich, Wilfrid Laurier
07-61) RB Tom Barbeau, McGill
08-70) DT Mike Lyriotokis, PEI

1977
TERR-  RB Mike Murphy, University of Ottawa
TERR-  OG Doug McGee, Richmond
TERR-  WR Dan Fournier, Princeton
TERR-  OT Brian McLaughlin, Simon Fraser
01-01) DT Mike Riley, Dalhousie
01-09) DB Kirk DeFazio, Waterloo
02-18) OT Jim Lynn, Windsor
03-27) DB Jim McCaffrey, Richmond
04-36) TE Rod Bell, New Brunswick
05-45) WR Roger Wheller, Acadia
06-54) OL Dan Sartor, University of Ottawa
07-63) RB Ross Tripp, McMaster
08-72) DB John Harrison, McMaster
09-81) FB Phil Ridley, St. Francis Xavier

1976
TERR-  WR Jeff Avery, University of Ottawa
TERR-  RB John Palazeti, Richmond
01-04) DB Steve Gelley, Simon Fraser
01-06) WR Bill Hatanaka, York
04-33) OG Drew Allan, Carleton
05-42) QB Doug Kitts, York
06-51) OT Jim Anderson, Alberta
07-60) LB Fred Brown, Wilfrid Laurier
08-69) OG Paul Lojewski, Windsor
09-78) WR Robert Forbes, New Brunswick
10-86) WR Chris Kziezopoloski, Waterloo

1975
TERR-  QB Peter Stenerson, Carleton
TERR-  DT Jeff Turcotte, Colorado
01-07) LB Marvin Allemang, Acadia
02-13) LB Dave Patterson, Simon Fraser
02-16) OL Jim Baker, Alberta
03-25) LB Cliff Summers, Western Ontario
04-34) LB Grant Stephenson, St. Francis Xavier
05-43) OG Scott Gibson, Manitoba
06-51) TE Arunas Pleckaitis, Carleton
07-59) TE Roy Biljetina, Wooster

1974
TERR-  DB Perry Arnold, Western Ontario
TERR-  OT Darryl Craig, North Carolina
01-08) HB Dave Hadden, Queen's
01-09) LB Bob Rushton, Otterbein
03-27) QB Bill Robinson, Saint Mary's
05-45) DT Tom Balfe, Wilfrid Laurier
06-54) DB Jeff Cope, Simon Fraser
07-63) LB Doug Ridding, Otterbein

1973
PROT-  OT Donn Smith, Purdue 
02-16) RB Bruce McMillan, Mount Allison
03-25) DB Roger Comartin, Alberta
04-34) DB Jim Budge, Western Ontario
SUPP-  DB John Reid, York

1972
03-22) DE Doug Cihocki, Western Ontario
04-31) DB Stew MacSween, University of Toronto
05-40) RB Ron Perowne, Bishop's
06-48) LB Gordon Ladbrook, Dalhousie
07-57) DT Fred Tokaryk, Dalhousie
SUPP-  PK Louis Lamarre, Montreal
SUPP-  PK Noel Billette, Montreal

1971
01-02) LB Bob Eccles, Carleton
03-20) OT Bob Padfield, Waterloo
04-29) DB Art Lord, Saskatchewan
05-38) OT Steve Derbyshire, Western Ontario
06-47) DE Steve Hoffman, Windsor
07-56) LB George Hill, Western Ontario
08-64) LB Marshall Caplan, McMaster
SUPP-  OT Jim Sheritt, Queen's

1970
01-09) HB Mike Sharp, Carleton
02-18) OT Gerald Kwapisz, Windsor
04-36) DB Dave Doherty, McGill
05-44) DB Ken Whalen, Guelph
07-61) FB Ron Clarke, Queen's
08-69) OG Bob Climie, Queen's
SUPP-  OL Bob Wright, Carleton
SUPP-  OT Jerry Brown, University of Ottawa

1969
01-09) QB Jim Foley, St. Dunstans
02-18) QB Norm Lukey, Saint Mary's
03-27) FL Brian donnelly, Queen's
04-36) OL Wayne Powell, University of Ottawa
05-45) HB Don Croteau, Laurentian
06-54) FL Bruce McGregor, Carleton

1968
01-04) HB Paul Brule, St. Francis Xavier
01-06) LB Daryll Burgess, Saint Mary's
01-08) OG Ron Wakelin, University of Toronto
01-09) LB/OL Don Cooper, Bishop's
02-17) LB John Wilson, Alberta
03-26) OT Theron Craig, Queen's
04-35) LB Brian Fryer, McMaster
05-44) LB Doug Shuh, Waterloo
06-53) LB Jim Tait, Queen's
07-62) FB Ted Ambercrombie, Saint Mary's
08-71) OT Neil Wyatt, University of Ottawa

1967
01-08) HB Greg McQueen, Waterloo
02-17) HB Robert Wearing, Western
03-26) QB Don Bayne, Queen's
04-35) HB Moe Rodigue, McGill

1966
01-06) LB Glen Markle, University of Toronto
02-xx) LB Doug Kelcher, St. Patrick's
02-xx) DE Jim Dickie, McGill
03-xx) FL Tod Scott, St. Francis Xavier
03-xx) LB Norm Lightfoot, Regina
04-xx) DB Al Keith, McMaster
05-xx) HB Terry Bradley, McDonald College
05-xx) LB Allan Grachina, University of Toronto
06-xx) DE Harold Hermitage, McDonald
06-xx) LB Wayne Houston, Waterloo Lutheran
07-xx) OG Phil Hughes, St. Francis Xavier
08-xx) LB Donald Holmes, Toronto
09-xx) HB John Ball, Mount Allison
10-xx) OG Dick Fiedler, McGill

1965
01-06) ?? Brian Bentley, Mount Allison
02-15) DE Stu O'Brien, Saint Mary's
03-24) OT Rick Canning, Bishop's
03-27) QB Mike Norcott, Mount Allison
04-33) HB Keith Mills, Bishop's
05-42) HB Don Campbell, Mount Allison
05-45) OT Pat Lafferty, Bishop's
06-51) LB Peter Ferguson, Mount Allison
07-60) DB Eric Hafenan, Saint Mary's

1964
01-06) FB Peter Martin, Western Ontario
02-15) OT Andy Shaw, Queen's
03-24) HB George Poirier, Loyola College
04-33) HB Bruce Leggatt, McMaster
04-36) DE Joel LaMorre, St Francis Xavier
05-42) OT Jim Burke, St Francis Xavier
06-51) HB Harold Rose, Queen's
07-60) QB John McLennan, McMaster

1963
01-03) HB Rick Black, Mount Allison
01-06) OG Bill Micklas, Queen's
01-08) HB Peter Quinn, Queen's
02-15) HB Paul Benoit, Queen's
03-24) FB Len Robinson, University of Ottawa
04-30) OL Ted Moore, Saint Mary's
04-33) OG Bob Bourgalt, Loyola
05-42) HB Jim Sevigny, Carleton
06-51) HB John Nash, Western
07-60) OT Jack Greben, McMaster

1962 (Eastern team plus Stampeders participating)
01-04) OG Chuck Wood, McGill
02-09) HB Whitman Tucker, Western
03-14) DE Bob windsor, McGill
04-19) DE Larry Shaw, Western
05-24) DE Hugh Cook, University of Toronto
06-29) OT Doug Niklas, Queen's

1961 (Eastern team plus Stampeders participating)
01-05) HB Paul Burroughs, University of Toronto
02-10) HB John Moore, McGill
03-15) HB Dick Pearce, Queen's
04-20) HB Frank Loftus, Queen's
05-25) OT John Evans, University of Toronto

1960 (Eastern team plus Stampeders participating)
01-04) HB Steve Chisolm, University of Toronto
02-09) DE Doug Jack, University of Toronto
03-14) OT Brian Bradstock, University of Toronto
04-19) HB Joe Irvine, McGill
05-24) DE Jim Edgar, Western
06-29) OG Ross Arbour, Queen's

1959
01-02) HB Jocko Thompson, Queen's
02-12) HB Bob Dann, University of Toronto
03-21) HB Steve O'Farrell, McGill

1958
01-06) HB Russ Jackson, McMaster
02-XX) DE John Bennett, McGill
03-XX) QB Brian Ashton, University of Toronto
04-XX) OL John Chisholm, University of Toronto
05-XX) DE Dan Nelson, University of Toronto
06-XX) DE Burt Kelloch, University of Toronto

1957
01-03) OG Russ Radchuk, Queen's
02-12) DE/P Peter Mitchell, McMaster
03-21) OL Peter Polecrone, University of Toronto

1956
01-01) DE Lou Bruce, Queen's
02-10) FB Ralph Simmons, Western Ontario
03-19) OT Vic Uzbalis, Queen's
04-28) HB Jack Rome, McMaster

1954
       HB Gino Fracas, Western Ontario
          Robert Pinkney, Toronto
          Pete Nicholson, Queen's
          George Stulac, Toronto
          Larry Henderson, Western Ontario
          Bob Turner, Western Ontario
          Fred Palermo, Toronto
          Joe O'Brien, Queen's
          Jack Rogers, Toronto
          Don Marston, Queen's
          John Hilts, McGill                

1953 (IRFU teams only)
01-02) OT Joe Harris, University of Toronto
02-06) OT Stu Kennedy, Queen's
03-10) DE Tony Arnoldi, Queen's
04-14) DE Hank Tamowski, University of Toronto
05-18) HB Ken Atwood, Queen's
06-22) HB Cameron Kenney, McGill
07-26) OG Clive Bynoe, McMaster
08-30) OG Pete Johnson, Queen's
09-34) HB Bill Gatfield, Queen's
10-38) OG W. Waddell, Queen's

In case you're wondering, and are something of a trivia buff, the big winner in terms of overall selections is actually Queen's University with 35 (not counting the 1954 draft).  Of course, it seems that only a handful of schools were "eligible" to be chosen from in the 50's and early 60's, but nonetheless.  Toronto and Western Ontario are next, followed by the two local schools.

Four Quiet Acquisitions

The Redblacks had their first full day of mini-camp today in Virginia today.  The Ottawa Sun's Tim Baines was on the scene running a live blog.  The following was among his updates.

RedBlacks will announce they have signed R Tim Maypray, DB Chika Madu, LB Will Heyward and QB Corey Leonard.

As I write this, the signing have yet to be announced, but assuming that Mr Baines is correct, let's have a look at what we're getting:

Maypray: Played quarterback for the Virginia Military Institute, then as a receiver with the Alouettes primary as a return man. According to Wikipedia:

Maypray made his professional debut with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) during the 2010 season. During his first game, Maypray returned a missed field goal by Luca Congi of the Saskatchewan Roughriders 125 yards for a touchdown, setting a team record.  During the Alouettes next meeting against the Roughriders, Maypray returned another missed field goal 118 yards for a touchdown. After his second missed field goal return for a touchdown, Maypray was named the CFL's Special Teams Player of the Week.

He's listed as being 5'8" and 170 pounds.

Madu: Was a first-team all-conference selection, and a record-setting kick return man, as a senior in 2011 for Nicholls State.

Heyward: Played his university ball at Texas State between 2001 and 2004. He has prior pro experience in AFL2 then with Hamilton in 2010 as a defensive back.  Hamilton listed him as being 5'9", 190 so I suspect he actually is a DB as opposed to LB.

Leonard: Was a 4-year starter at Arkansas State, throwing for over 7300 yards.  Spent the 2011 season with the BC Lions.  Is listed as being 6'01", 207.

Riders and Panthers in the OVFL Prospects Game

The timing on this announcement is rather fortuitous. The last post was about university players being selected to a game to showcase themselves for the pros, this one is about junior varsity players being selected to showcase themselves to university clubs.  And it's also Ottawa-heavy.

The selection process is relatively simple; if you made last year's all-star team, and are registered for 2014, then you're in. A substitute is selected from the player's team if he is not registered for 2014.

No  Name              Team          Pos.  High School
3   Luke Rawling  Myers Riders   WR   Perth and District
7   Okwes Nwaelleh Myers Riders   DB   St Pauls
24  Nicholas Brunet Cumberland     RB   Louis Riel
41  Abed Hamidi       Myers Riders   LB   Earl of March
45  Nicarlo Funai Cumberland     DL   St. Mark
56  Jake Nesbitt      Cumberland     OL   Ashbury College
57  Benjamin Spencer Myers Riders   OL   Ashbury College
63  Craig Dawe        Myers Riders   OL   Sacred Heart
80  Darius Beckford Cumberland     WR   St. Patrick
84  Philippe Iloki Myers Riders   WR   St Joseph

Way to drop two guys there, Ashbury!  While there are no stats to share for offensive linemen, and size alone does not a great lineman make, it may be worthwhile to point out that Nesbitt is listed as being 6'1, 290 pounds.

Let's also give a little recognition to the members of the Riders/Panthers coaching staffs that will assist the Wettges Conference team for this game.

COACHING STAFF
Ntare Bainomugisha   Cumberland Panthers    OC
Matt Kassner         Myers Riders           LB
Chris Bromfield      Cumberland Panthers    WR
John Buck            Myers Riders           ST
Matt Ferguson        Myers Riders           DB
Pat Nesbitt          Cumberland Panthers    OL

And finally, let's have a look at some stats (as provided by the OVFL website):

Myers Riders 

Rawlings (6'02", 205): 15 receptions, 200 yards, two td's.
Iloki (6'00", 175): 40 receptions, 817 yards, 13 td's.
Nwaelleh (5'11", 170): 19 tackles, 29 assists, 6 interceptions.
Hamidi (5'09", 208): 34 tackles, 7.5 sacks. 

Cumberland Panthers 

Brunet (5'10", 190): 16 carries for 49 yards, six receptions for 20 yards and a score.
Funai (6'04", 225): 31 tackles, six sacks.
Beckford (5'08", 153): Eight receptions for 116 yards and a score.

It'll be interesting to see who shines.  Keep these names in the back of your mind; there's a very good chance that several of the them will be playing CIS ball soon, hopefully close to home.

The game will be played at McMaster next Saturday. Kickoff is at 2PM.

2014 East West Bowl (capital region representation)

The blog is rather RedBlacks heavy at the moment, as that team actively builds, but anyone who came across my Capital Region Football website in the past knows that I have just as much interest in the amateur levels of the sport around the city as I do pro.  I've gotten in many an argument with people who claim that Ottawa is "not a football town", based on the quality and success of the amateur game, and my invitation for them to go to hell continues to be wide open. ;-)

So I took in the East-West bowl rosters with an increasing amount of glee last week as I was scrolling down the list and seeing more and more players with Ottawa connections.  Have a look:

QB  Dallon Kuprowski   McGill     5-9   168   Kanata, Ont.
QB  Jesse Mills        Carleton   6-4   230   Halifax, N.S.
OL  Danny Groulx       Laval      6-6   320   Gatineau, Que.
RB  Jesse Andrews      Queen’s    6-1   210   Arnprior, Ont.
RB  Ashton Dickson     StFX       5-9   193   Ottawa, Ont.
REC Nyjill Wilson      Bishop’s   6-1   190   Ottawa, Ont.
REC Ian Stewart        Ottawa     6-2   186   Burlington, Ont.
REC Randy Roseway      StFX       6-0   163   Ottawa, Ont.
                     

LB Ron Omara

LB  Drew Morris        Acadia     6-2   225   Ottawa, Ont.
LB  Ron Omara          StFX       6-2   241   Aylmer, Que.
DB  Sean Stoqua        Acadia     5-11  180   Ottawa, Ont.
DB  Dustin Wilson      Ottawa     6-1   195   Ottawa, Ont.

K/P Ryan Begin         Acadia     5-10  205   Orleans, Ont.

Now to be completely impartial, I have acknowledge that two of the guys playing IN Ottawa are not FROM Ottawa, just apparently excelling in the local university programs.

So technically I'm double-dipping.  But even removing Jesse Mills and Ian Stewart from the list (even Arnprior's Jesse Andrews is debatable), it's still plenty solid.  As was pointed out to me on Twitter, StFX is sending three guys, and all three are from Ottawa.

Also, this isn't an all-star team per se.  The point of the East West Bowl is for players becoming draft-eligible in 2015 to showcase their skills.  So a number of players don't qualify to be included.

That hardly diminishes the accomplishment.  As the announcement points outs, 13 of the guys on the list (West team included, of course) were named CIS all-stars at the conclusion of last season.

Though I wasn't quite as active in terms of direct support in 2013 as I had in previous years, it's great to see some of the guys that I've been watching for years reach this level.  There may be a couple in particular that I'll want to elaborate on but if so I'll do it in separate posts.  In the meantime, congratulations to all of the above for the prestigious invitation.

The game will be played May 10th at 1PM at the University of Western Ontario.

"REDBLACKS add trio of import linebackers to roster"

Even though they still had a bit of room on the roster, it appeared as though the RedBlacks were done signing players for a while. Their near-daily signings had come to an end weeks as the team instead made the news with mascot namings and fancy food selections at the stadium.

But they were back to their earlier ways today, signing three linebackers.  The release is below.

OTTAWA - The Ottawa REDBLACKS of the Canadian Football League added trio linebackers to the team roster today: Anton McKenzie, Travis Brown and Jeremiah Green. 

McKenzie, a 33-year-old native of Medford, N.Y., is an eight-year CFL veteran who played three seasons to begin his career in Saskatchewan before joining the B.C. Lions in 2009. 

McKenzie (5-10, 235) has 398 career regular-season tackles, 13 sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. 

In 2009 and his first season with the Lions, McKenzie had a career-high 85 tackles, 14 tackles on special teams and six sacks. 

Brown, a native of Fresno, Calif., played collegiate football at Fresno State where he had 38 consecutive starts at linebacker for the Bulldogs. The 6-foot-1, 236-lb. Brown had 67 tackles during his senior year at Fresno State in 2012. 

Green, a 23-year-old native of Tulare, Calif., joins the REDBLACKS after a standout collegiate career with the University of Nevada Wolf Pack. 

Green (6-2, 235) joined the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL and attended training camp before joining the San Jose SabreCats of the Arena Football League last October.

Obviously McKenzie is the best known of the bunch, and the release shares a fair amount of information about him.  But in trying to find out more about him, I came across this pretty complimentary comment from his now-former head coach in a newspaper article from last July.

"He plays the game from a cerebral point of view," Benevides said. "He's always where he needs to be. When we picked him up in free agency...the analysis we had on him at the time was that he was a very smart football player, and a leader. He was telling everyone else what to do. And he still does. That says something, given the multiplicity of the defences we run. At the same time, he makes plays. I've always respected him because he's never gotten enough credit. And I respect him because he knows that."

McKenzie had 30 tackles for the Lions last year, plus another five on special teams.

As for the others, being young and relatively inexperienced, there is less material about them to choose from, however I did find the following about Brown in a 2011 defensive preview of Fresno State's season...

Junior Travis Brown started every game last year on the strongside finishing second on the team with 79 tackles with two sacks, nine tackles for loss, and a pick. The 6-2, 235-pounder suffered a hip injury this spring, but he’s expected to come back and be fine. With good size and nice pass rushing skills, he’s a good do-it-all veteran on the outside and is a tone-setting big hitter.

...And Jeremiah Green ranked 5th in examiner.com's list of the top 10 linebackers in the Mountain West Conference in 2012:

Green was thrown into the starting lineup last summer after an injury to DeAndre Boughton and the junior took full advantage of the opportunity. The 6-2, 230-pounder from Tulare (Calif.) Union High, had 49 tackles last year playing next to veteran linebackers James-Michael Johnson and Brandon Marshall. Two of Green’s tackles were for a loss. Used extensively in pass coverage, Green intercepted three passes and knocked down 10. He was named to the Butkus Award watch list this week. The award is given to the top linebacker in the nation.

Looks like the competition at the position just got a fair bit more fierce.  Look forward to hearing how next week's mini-camp in Virginia shakes down.